Job description

After Matthew 5:1-10

 

Thank you, sir,

thank you, ma’am,

for your application.

I’d like to provide 

a little detail on what

we mean by “Wanted:

Disciple.”

 

Qualifications include:

poverty in spirit,

an ability to mourn,

meekness,

a hunger and thirst

for righteousness,

mercifulness,

purity in heart,

peacemaking, and

an expectation 

of being persecuted.

 

Not the usual job

qualifications, I admit,

a bit unusual, slightly

eccentric, and not

exactly the qualities

of A-type personalities.

Or even B-types,

for that matter.

 

But then, there are

the benefits. Not a 401K,

medical, dental, vacation,

stock options, or pension.

No, these are unlike

any you’ve ever seen

or even heard about.

In fact, you might call

them eternal benefits:

 

the kingdom of heaven,

comfort when you mourn,

inheritance of the earth,

satisfaction for hunger,

mercy,

seeing the face of God,

being called God’s sons, 

and let me repeat,

the kingdom of heaven.

 

Still interested?

 

Photograph by Tim Gouw via Unsplash. Used with permission. 

The reading of the will

After Matthew 5:1-10 

It’s like the reading 

of the will and testament, 

the will for the family.

 

The poor in spirit, who

know they are in need,

receive the kingdom.

The mourners, for

whatever reason, receive

comfort and embrace.

The meek, the gentle ones,

inherit the earth.

The hungry, the ones who

know righteousness does

not come from within,

will be filled.

The merciful, who show

mercy and compassion,

are granted mercy.

The pure in heart, who

seek to purify their lives

fully and completely, 

will see God.

The peacemakers, who

seek God’s peace, not

man’s, are named sons

of heaven.

The persecuted, the ones

treated unjustly for what

they believe in faith, who

remain steadfast to the end,

inherit the kingdom.

 

Photograph by Melinda Gimpel via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Disciple talk

After Matthew 5:1-10 

Great crowds, great crowds,

hordes and flocks of people

follow him wherever he

goes, and he heals the sick,

the diseased, the possessed,

the paralyzed, the afflicted,

and the crowds grow, coming

from all over. He sees them

and withdraws; there’s a time 

to heal and a time to teach. He

withdraws up the mountain,

his followers gathered

around. It is the time to teach

them, away from the crowds

and the press of the afflicted,

the incessant demands to heal.

His followers sit with him.

He speaks and begins to teach,

knowing the difference between

a follower and a crowd member.

It is the time to teach, to listen,

to learn, against the backdrop

of the great crowds below,

the great crowd of needs,

down below.

 

Photograph by Mason Field via Unsplash. Used with permission